The STING: Claudia Rankine’s CITIZEN

“When you are alone and too tired even to turn on any of your devices, you let yourself linger in a past stacked among your pillows.” Claudia Rankine

The STING: Claudia Rankine’s CITIZEN – A Review

The STING: Claudia Rankine’s CITIZEN – A Review

The man at the cash register wants to know if you think your card will work. If this is his routine, he didn’t use it on the friend who went before you. As she picks up her bag, she looks to see what you will say. She says nothing. You want her to say something – both as witness and as a friend. She is not you; her silence says so. Because you are watching all this take place even as you participate in it, you say nothing as well. Come over here with me, your eyes say. Why on earth would she?p54

The world is wrong. You can’t put the past behind you. It’s buried in you; it’s turned your flesh into its own cupboard. Not everything remembered is useful but it all comes from the world to be stored in you. Who did what to whom on which day? Who said that? She said what? What did he just do? Did she really just say that? He said what? What did she do? Did I hear what I think I heard? Did that just come out of my mouth, his mouth, your mouth? Do you remember when you sighed?p63

Franz Kafka said, “we ought to read only books that bite and sting us.” What’s the last thing you read that bit and stung you? Claudia Rankine’s latest award winning book, CITIZEN: An American Lyric, bit so hard, it left me speechless. Claudia is a Jamaican born, NY raised author, poet, professor and social observer. Her book is a mix of poetry and prose pieces that share the many ways; covert and overt, that racism is expressed in every day exchanges with friends and strangers. The pieces highlight incidents of micro-aggressions that inform the fabric of daily racial exchanges in American life. These incidents, while appearing innocuous to the un-initiated, build over time into ripened sores of unintended slights and resentments. Sadly, the typical response of those who don’t want to admit that these insults exist is … to be silent. Above and below, I have added snippets or vignettes from Claudia’s book to help us understand what these exchanges sound and look like.

“You never really speak except for the time she makes her request and later when she tells you you smell good and have features more like a white person, You assume she thinks she is thanking you for letting her cheat and feels better cheating from an almost white person.p5” Claudia Rankine

The STING: Claudia Rankine’s CITIZEN

You are in the dark, in the car, watching the black-tarred street being swallowed by speed; he tells you his dean is making him hire a person of color when there are so many great writers out there . . . .
As usual you drive straight through the moment with the expected backing off of what was previously said. It is not only that confrontation is headache-producing; it is also that you have a destination that doesn’t include acting like this moment isn’t inhabitable, hasn’t happened before, and before isn’t part of the now as the night darkens and the time shortens between where we are and where we are going.p10

Sitting there staring at the closed garage door you are reminded that a friend once told you there exists the medical term — John Henryism — for people exposed to stresses stemming from racism. They achieve themselves to death trying to dodge the buildup of erasure. p11

When I read the book, I was reminded of similar exchanges I have had, over the years, with people who have expressed some version of the language in Claudia’s pieces while talking to me. As a new student in a prestigious America college, my accent meant that I was classified as ” You’re different, not like them!” The intended compliment was not received as such because I understood the underlying message was insulting. At the time, I didn’t have a term like “micro-aggressions” to define it and I sought the advice of close friends to make sense of it all. In case you’re wondering, Harvard professor Chester Pierce coined the term in 1970 to describe the unconscious insults non-black Americans hurled at black people. Over the years, I’ve come to grasp the cultural and historical legacy that perpetuates this kind of thinking and it is wrong … all of it. Like Claudia, I sigh a lot when one of these unintended racist remarks slip out and sometimes I address it. It is not an easy subject and often creates rancor on all sides.

“After it happened, I was at a loss for words. Haven’t you said this yourself? Haven’t you said this to a close friend who early in your friendship, when distracted, would call you by the name of her black housekeeper? You assumed you two were the only black people in her life.p7” Claudia Rankine

The STING: Claudia Rankine’s CITIZEN

Because of your elite status from a year’s worth of travel, you have already settled into your window seat … the girl and her mother arrive at your row. The girl, looking over at you, tells her mother, these are our seats, but this is not what I expected. the mother’s response is barely audible — I see, she says. I’ll sit in the middle. p12

The serves and returns Alves called out were landing, stunningly unreturned by Capriati, inside the lines, no discerning eyesight needed. Commentators, spectators, television viewers, line judges, everyone could see the balls were good, everyone, apparently, except Alves. No one could understand what was happening. Serena, in her denim skirt, black sneaker boots, and dark mascara, began wagging her finger and saying, “no, no, no,” as if by negating the moment she could propel us back into a legible world.p27

Unfortunately, many of the prevailing attitudes around race relations begin in the home. When parents expose their children to ugly, racist remarks and constantly fill their heads with demeaning comments about minorities, immigrants and others who don’t look like them, they perpetuate the condition and the hatreds grow. The child on the plane above didn’t find the black passenger offensive by accident, She had been exposed to negative ways of viewing and treating people of color. Serena Williams’ experiences on the tennis court bring these attitudes to bear. Whether she was being ducked points for her serves or accused of doing a gangster jig or called racial slurs, the world of Tennis is simply a microcosm of the larger, biased world we inhabit. Any form of discrimination diminishes both the oppressor and the oppressed, and that legacy of hatred is passed on to all of our children. We must STOP the lies, the hatreds, and the ugly behavior and it must start with US.

More Below

“Baldwin says skin color cannot be more important than the human being. And was the pickup constructing or exploding whiteness out of you? You are so sorry. You are angry, an explosive anger, an effective one: I ran that n***#@r over.”p94 (In Memory of James Craig Anderson) Claudia Rankine

The STING: Claudia Rankine’s CITIZEN – A Review

The STING: Claudia Rankine’s CITIZEN – A Review

A man knocked over her son in the subway. You feel your own body wince. he’s okay, but the son of a bitch kept walking. She says she grabbed the stranger’s arm and told him to apologize: I told him to look at the boy and apologize. Yes, and you want it to stop, you want the child pushed to the ground to be seen, to be helped to his feet, to be brushed off by the person that did not see him, has never seen him, has perhaps never seen anyone who is not a reflection of himself. The beautiful thing is that a group of men began to stand behind me like a fleet of bodyguards, she says, like newly found uncles and brothers.P17

Get on the ground. Get on the ground now. I must have been speeding. No, you weren’t speeding. Wasn’t speeding? You didn’t do anything wrong. Then why are you pulling me over? Why am I pulled over? Put your hands where they can be seen. Put your hands in the air. Put your hands up.pg106

Yesterday, I begin, I was waiting in the car for time to pass. A woman pulled in and started to park her car facing mine. Our eyes met and what passed passed as quickly as the look away. She backed up and parked on the other side of the lot. I could have followed her to worry my question but I had to go, I was expected on court, I grabbed my racket.p159

In the snippets above, Claudia introduces a few more familiar subjects… of being invisible and of irrational fear. While every meeting doesn’t have this outcome, it is frequent and disturbing. Every year, on March 21, we celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. While it is a noble cause and raises awareness about discriminatory acts globally, it alone cannot eradicate the problem. One thing I know for sure is that we cannot legislate people’s beliefs and thinking. We can choose to educate our children differently and expose them to the rich diversity that exists in this world. We can teach our children to treat others with dignity and respect and, as the late Dr. Martin Luther King often said, judge others by the content of their character not by the color of their skin. Until we build bridges to racial harmony, we will continue the legacy of racism and oppression. Be the Change. Our children deserve better! On a final note, I’d recommend reading Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, and the following articles to read and learn more from other book reviews and perspectives on the subject.
READ: ‘The Condition of Black Life Is One of Mourning’ by Claudia Rankine NYTimesColor Codes by Dan Chiasson New Yorker MagazineA New Way of Writing About Race by Nick Laird (NYTimes Books)

My fellow bloggers were equally creative with their selections. Check out how others interpreted the theme – That Stings! – below.

This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post:That Stings! – Franz Kafka said, “we ought to read only books that bite and sting us.” What’s the last thing you read that bit and stung you?

Thanks for your informative and deep post. My personal philosophy and guide through my day is this “be careful what you [Look] for as you might surely find it. I search for Love as I make my way through the world. I beam a bright light on dark places looking for the only thing I seek – Love. Every other search has brought me grief and yes, growth. Now, on this what I believe is my last lap – love is my religion. Namaste

I love a book that not only bites and stings but kicks you right in the very core. My best friend is Creole and I am Caucasion (my father is half Muscogee/Creek Native American) and we have talked about the undertones (beyond the blatantly obviousness) of racism. She told me that it’s like a whisper behind your back that you can hear, feel and almost touch and it makes her acutely aware of it all around her while those who are judging her skin color are smiling to her face.

It makes me sad and it’s a constant reminder of how much more we need to go.

I have to say your posts are often like a meal of delicious cake to me, but probably much richer in nourishment. Of course I love the quotes, and I also love Franz Kafka. I’m not sure of my prose “stings” but hopefully it leaves a residual impression with you that works some time after you’ve read the book. That is the dream anyway 🙂

Ah, you’re lucky you got to attend a prestigious university. I’d have loved to have gone Ivy League. And your message here is heard. I agree too that so much starts in the home. We have to know how much we affect/shape our children’s lives (good and sometimes not so good!) with everything we say and do.

That is some powerful artwork in that book. I think the subject is an important one too. I can’t believe our society still discriminates based on skin color on such a grand scale. You’d think we’d have evolved past that by now.

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentors, not the tormented. Wherever anyone is persecuted for their race or views, that place must become the center of the universe.” Elie Wiesel

I think we have to really be honest – when I had that ‘will my card go through’ concern it was because I had bought too much crap. But, I know at times there just are too many expenses and too little money as well.

Everything, our values included, starts at home. I’d love to read this book and when it’s my turn to reco a book for my Book Club, I might just put in a good word for this as one of our monthly reading assignments. I love the message that Citizen communicates.

I love to travel, but one of the things that I am scared of is being discriminated at whenever I am at another country. We all deserve a better and happier world.

When I read fiction, I usually fall deep into the story. Sometimes when I stop reading, I have to remind myself that what’s happening in the book, like a dystopian society, etc, isn’t in real life, lol. Lately, the news of a famous person has really stung me. Jared Fogle was the spokesman for Subway sandwich restaurants for years. Now he’s pleading guilty to some horrible things, and I just can’t believe he was this person when he had such a different image.

Cannot agree more that the hateful words start at home. I was around it with my grandmother but I was old enough to not let it affect my view. My kids are taught that we have our differences whether it’s physical abilities or language but they should still give kindness and respect.

Haven’t heard of this artist, thanks for sharing the details and that she won an award. This is a profound and difficult dissertation, unfortunately discrimination happens all across cultures yet we need to rise and overcome obstacles.

I think it’s best to influence the thoughts of children and people around us by traveling. That way, we also get to learn more about the good in the culture, traditions, and beliefs of other people and other places. Therefore, we will know how we can best encourage others to not think about racial discrimination.

Thanks for this post. I loved reading it. In my country, even if we are all Asians here, racism also exists. It is the fairer skinned people who get an advantage over the brown skinned ones. That’s the reason why skin whitening products are big in this country. I don’t know why people have to classify people into “categories.” If my race was supposed to be fair skinned, we could have gone extinct long ago. We could have all died of skin cancer because of all the sunshine we get all year round.

Nobody can ever forget their past. It is always there in your mind and can strike at any time. I have had it happen often enough. While we cannot forget our past we can still move forward and perhaps be more stronger than before.

I know race is still an issue to many people but for the most part, I think it’s all become blended with humanity in general. I’m Asian and know what it’s like to be looked at differently, but I think the more we create and talk about subjects of race, the more we actually hurt ourselves. I know many have suffered from it and believe me, my own ancestors have been through a lot too, but personally, I don’t like reading stuff about race because it gets people to dwell on the past and promotes anger and to be honest, I’d rather not be surrounded by negativity. We can learn from the past and encourage strength and positive motions.

Your point is well taken Lexie … but, not talking about these issues won’t make them go away. I think the more we dialogue about difficult topics and seek solutions for them, the better. People are hurting on all sides and brushing it under the rug won’t help. There is a lot of good in the world and a lot of bad. If the bad is ignored it escalates and that is why we must speak up, speak out, and discourage such behavior.

Reading has, unfortunately, become a bit of a past time for me. I’ve only managed to read maybe 8 books in the last three years. Art is another favorite hobby that I’d like to return to. Since having my son (which will be three years ago as of Monday!) I simply don’t have time between caring for my son, working, and maintaining our household. Sad that something so beneficial in so many ways has become a luxury I can’t afford!!! I’m hoping to be able to find at least a little time to do things I love again soon. Thanks for sharing this post!

This is a book I would like to read indeed. I do believe so much of the racial remarks and even thoughts are in how we grow up along with what we are exposed to when we are young. I could never understand why people were or could even be so cruel to others. Thanks so much for sharing.

The Bible bites and stings me each time I read it, it can hurt you with the truth but it’ll never comfort anyone with a lie. Ignoring issues going around the world won’t make them go away, it’s like you want to live in a dream world, making your own reality by only seeing what you want to see and turning a blind eye to what you don’t. Sadly a lot of people choose to live like that today. I hope they wake up soon and see the world thru unfiltered eyes.

The last book I read that stung my heart was a book about sex trafficking in other countries. It’s been awhile since I read it. I need to take action on the conviction I once had to help these abused women and children.

The quotes you put here are actually very spot on, and represent a lot in what is currently experienced by people of color everywhere. I hope that when I am faced with the same lines, I will be able to speak up and stand up against it.

This is my first time to hear about the book and its author but it seems really interesting. Racism has been an issue for so long and it will never be solved unless we all work together to stop it. I believe that living in another country and understanding the culture of that place makes us all understand why other people act or think the way they do.

Thank you for recommending this author and her book. I have never heard of her name before this. But that initial quote you gave really had a lot of insight. If that is any indication of the whole book, then this should be a must-read. – Fred

Reading this post makes me think of how people intentionally and unintentionally do things out of race-based misconceptions of others – makes me think of the women who clutch their purse when people of a certain race enter an elevator, or how people tweak their car alarms when they see a certain race, or how some races perceive that alarm click as a racial dig when it really isn’t. Race is so very much an issue today. It’s sad how ingrained past and present racial discrimination is.

“Any form of discrimination diminishes both the oppressor and the oppressed, and that legacy of hatred is passed on to all of our children. We must STOP the lies, the hatreds, and the ugly behavior and it must start with US.” I would definitely want my kids to be good persons when they grow up. That they would treat every person they know fairly and equally. Seeing them grow as such would really be an achievement for me as a parent.

We can never move forward if our vision is focused behind us. There is a lot of bad things going on in the world, borne out of indifference. We must do our part to put an end to all of this. We share the same planet, the same vast sky! No need to fight.